Neckline has stretched out

I noticed the last time my oldest wore her interlock Playtime dress, that the neckline has really stretched out – probably 2″ worth. She wears it about twice a week and has done so since I sewed it about seven weeks ago. It has just now begun to stretch. I suppose I should have expected this, even with the staystitching and interfacing – most knit top/dresses have a banded neckline to prevent this very thing from happening, right? Any ideas for what I could do next time to prevent this from happening? I do love this pattern in a sturdy knit.

One drawback to interlock is its lack of good recovery. I love how soft it is, but it does stretch out. Jersey tends to be better, but it curls at the hems, so it poses a different set of problems, doesn’t it? I was wondering if fold-over elastic might be a workable binding for the neckline, since it would have great stretch and recovery. If you try it please let us know how it works out!

you could use a cotton knit that has 5% spandex in the fiber content. It is not hard to find this at the internet fabric stores; it is available in many colors and prints and the recovery is excellent.

I had a super soft interlock, and even interfaced, I could tell that it was going to stretch, so I sewed my seams at the neckline, and then zig-zagged 1/4″ elastic right next to the seam allowance. It’s concealed, and a pretty tight seam. So far, so good.